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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
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Chapter 339
One of the essences of the cult's technology, the interior of the observation room, was completely a mess.
Due to damage to the power system, the entire structure was bathed in the red light of emergency lights. Broken outer wall debris was scattered all over the floor.
It was all the work of me and Vortex One.
Just as I reached out to grab the airship that Alshas was riding, the ‘Ring of Agony’ moved. The countless arms on the surface of the ring grabbed me and yanked me backward.
It wasn’t just big; it was terrifyingly strong as well. My body was thrown outside the observation room against my will.
I extended my corrosive tentacles and grabbed onto the outer wall, activating the ‘Shape-shifting Bio-Weapon’.
The mutated part was my head. The central head carapace transformed into a shape resembling that of the apex creature, the ‘Ice Horror’.
With my head changed, I applied more strength to the tentacles gripping the outer wall. Like an arrow leaving a bow, my body was launched into the interior of the structure.
A violent impact followed. My head slammed into the Ring of Agony.
All Vortex Ones are made of the abyssal force and organic material, boasting extraordinary durability. However, this doesn’t mean they are invincible or indestructible.
The countless arms attached to the surface of the ring were crushed under my head carapace. Both sides of my head used all their strength to bite down on the black ring.
In that state, I drove my two legs into the floor of the observation room and pushed it with all my might.
The ring-shaped body was pushed to one side by my force. During this process, the control tower and warships were crushed beneath it and exploded.
The corrosive tentacles on my back grabbed the floating wreckage of the ships in mid-air. Using them like a club, I swung them to strike the demon. Every time the wreckage collided with the enemy, a loud explosion shook the structure.
‘It’s about time for a counterattack.’
Right now, its arms are tearing at my head carapace, but it’ll soon realize it’s not having much effect.
｢-｣
At that moment, the arms, which had been moving independently, suddenly froze. The arms grouped together, and they all clapped in unison towards me.
Soon after, an enormous pressure overwhelmed me.
｢Pain reduction activated!｣
Due to the invisible force, not only my tendrils but my neck and torso twisted uncontrollably. My body was twisted into a shape like a wrung-out cloth.
The structure surrounding me also began to bend and groan with friction. The docked warships twisted like taffy, and various facilities, including the control tower, became compacted into the shape of crushed cans.
‘It’s really strong!’
The Ring of Agony has different abilities depending on the posture of its arms. The clapping posture is one that uses its gravity manipulation abilities.
Of course, I’ve experienced it in the game before. Seeing it in real life, rather than as a number, is an overwhelming sensation. The bone armor, which was perfectly fine after taking a direct hit from a battleship's main cannon, cracked and shattered in an instant.
Even in an incomplete state, it has this much destructive power. If it were in its optimal condition, I might have lost my head by now.
‘But...!’
Whatever happens, attacks that can’t kill me only make me stronger.
As the ‘Tyrantroid’ activated, my body began to grow again. As my body changed, my strength grew as well.
I reverted my central head, which had been modified with the Ice Horror's carapace, back to its original form, and mutated my combat arms.
The bones inside my arms made a chilling sound as they stretched. As the bones deformed, the parts originally meant for hands transformed into sickle-shaped blades with saw teeth. The four fingers quickly shrank, eventually degenerating into claw-like appendages.
The main weapon of the apex creature ‘Hellside Hornet’, resembling a praying mantis, was now in my hands.
I swung my mutated combat arm fiercely. The sharp bio-blade sank into the black ring. Thanks to the natural sharpness of the Hellside Hornet's arm and the enhancement effects of Tyrantroid, this was possible.
｢--｣
When the ring was directly damaged, it moved again. After clapping, the palms of its hands, which had been pressed together, now assumed a prayer-like posture.
Soon after, it unleashed an immense rebound force. The heads that were gripping it, as well as the bio-scissors embedded on the ring's surface, were flung away. Black liquid gushed from the wounded creature's body like a fountain.
I wasn’t the only one who was thrown off by the proximity. The airship that Alshas was riding on was swept up as well, colliding with objects before being sucked out into space.
‘It won’t be able to escape now.’
By the time it was caught in Vortex One's hands, the rear rockets had already been heavily damaged. Not only was ultrafast navigation impossible, but even descending to the nearby Verzan-02 was no longer an option.
So, essentially, it was trapped in a metal prison, floating aimlessly in space.
‘For now, let’s focus on clearing the Ring of Agony.’
I pushed aside my concern for Alshas and concentrated on the enemy before me.
The creature that had shoved me was trying to use its gravity manipulation abilities once again. As its palms met and its arms began to part and reattach, I directed the central head’s tip toward it.
As I opened my mouth wide, Number 26, which had been hiding inside, leaped out. Growing in size as it descended, it charged toward the Ring of Agony. Countless razor-sharp tentacles that sprouted from its body wrapped around the ring's arms.
｢-｣
The arms that Number 26 couldn't catch clapped together. A formless force surged toward me and Number 26, but compared to earlier, it was much weaker. The lack of movement from all the arms had reduced the power. Thanks to that, Number 26 was able to withstand it.
While Number 26 held firm, I prepared my psychic breath. Psychic power gathered into the tentacles attached to each of my heads. The massive energy-filled tentacles swayed like flames.
As soon as the right amount of power had accumulated, I fired the breath. Number 26, knowing that I was gathering energy, quickly shrank its body and dodged.
The purple beam that originated from my three heads slammed into the black ring. The shock from the breath made the ring stagger and slide backward. The arms that had been gathered moved again to change positions, even as they burned.
At that moment, a small light flashed behind it. The red and white light revealed its source: Adhai.
While I advanced to draw Vortex One's attention, she and the Mother of the Sky decided to sneak in.
While the Ring of Agony perceived me as an obstacle and attacked, Adhai had circled behind and finally initiated the attack.
A red lightning bolt, so fast that even tracking its movement with the eyes was difficult, struck the black ring.
No matter how tough Vortex One was, it was useless against Adhai's ‘Red Armor’, the ultimate defensive technique. Wrapped in Red Armor, Adhai pierced through its torso.
The Ring of Agony seemed to struggle to withstand the attack, hesitating before trying to retaliate.
I didn’t miss the opening and charged at it. As I collided with it, a brief shockwave erupted, lifting its body slightly off the ground.
‘I’ve got you now!’
I grabbed its airborne body with my corrosive tentacles and winged arms, then slammed it into the opposite wall of the surveillance chamber. Several obstacles, including the central command tower towering high and large ships docked nearby, exploded upon impact with it.
｢---｣
The creature, having suffered consecutive damage, twisted its body.
‘Finally, it begins.’
It wasn’t because of the pain. This was a signal that it was about to start fighting seriously, unlike before.
Its ring-shaped body, now reduced to half, warped, and the ends of the ring crossed into an X shape. Normally, it would take the form of a figure-eight, a Mobius strip, but with only half of its body remaining, this was its altered state.
｢----｣
‘Danger!’
The creature's arms crossed in an X shape with the palms facing outward.
Seeing that, I hurriedly pulled away from it. Just after I fell, black beams of light shot out from its body in all directions.
It was a simple attack, exhaling the power of the abyss through the mouths on its palms, but the result was far from trivial. Shooting energy blasts from the thousands, if not tens of thousands, of mouths that composed Vortex One's form was bound to have devastating effects.
Black energy projectiles poured down like rain, obliterating everything around them. Whether it was the heavily armored ship or the outer walls, which were dozens of times thicker, everything was shattered.
Not including myself, Number 26 and Adhai each actively used their abilities to avoid the bombardment of energy shells. Adhai used her unique speed to easily dodge the incoming attacks. Number 26 shrank its body down so small that it avoided the energy shells altogether.
However, because of my size, I couldn’t dodge like they did.
Countless energy shells raked across my body. Even the reinforced exoskeleton wasn’t enough to block the vortex-like attacks. Holes were torn in various parts of my body: my wings, back, and abdomen.
｢Pain reduction activated!｣
Blood poured from the shattered and pierced wounds. The pain mitigation feature continuously sent warning messages, urging me to be careful.
‘This much, I can endure!’
As long as my head and heart are not damaged, I can recover at any time. Right now, I have to trust in the Amorph's strong vitality.
I endured the rain of death and prepared for the next weapon.
‘There are still plenty of cultists left here.’
Cultists are hiding inside the ships docked in the surveillance station or within the defensive structures. They’re paralyzed and unable to move because of the giant monsters suddenly appearing and smashing buildings.
‘If they can’t get their wits together, I’ll help them.’
｢-｣
The Ring of Agony stopped the barrage of energy shells and was trying to use gravity manipulation again. Since it's using its altered body form, the destructive power and intensity would be far greater than before.
｢Don’t hurt the big baby!｣
At that moment, Number 26 extended its tentacles toward it. The purple tendrils at the tips of the tentacles transformed into a massive barrier, attempting to cover the Ring.
｢--｣
The Ring's arms, which were about to clap, suddenly switched to a prayer-like posture. It used anti-gravity to lift its body and avoided Number 26’s barrier.
While this was happening, I activated my powerful mental domination feature, ‘Herald of Chaos’. As the feature was activated, invisible psychic waves erupted from my body.
The Herald of Chaos can distort the cognitive abilities of all sentient beings within a 500-meter radius. If the enemy is a cultist adept in psychic powers, it would be difficult to control them, but right now they are in a state of panic, having lost their rationality.
At this point, I can easily push them into a near-madness, reckless frenzy.
As expected, some of the docked ships started to move. All that was on their minds was the immediate need to kill the demon. The ship-based turrets on the launched vessels began firing immediately.
Their target was, of course, the gigantic monster in the air: the Ring of Agony.
As several ships launched attacks, others gathered their courage and joined in. The defensive turrets inside the surveillance station supported the ships.
｢--｣
The ships that had been motionless until then began attacking when they were targeted. Psychic beams fired from the ships bounced off the creature's body. Some hit other ships, and some embedded into the surveillance station's walls.
While it was focused on the ships, I lowered my body and crawled around to its back.
‘This should be good enough.’
At an optimal point, I fixed my wings, combat arms, and two legs into the floor of the structure. Once firmly secured, I extended my corrosive tentacles and grabbed it.
｢-｣
‘It’s already too late!’
It tried to manipulate gravity against me, but this time, I was one step faster. I tightened the limbs embedded in the station’s floor while pulling my tentacles sharply.
A monster more than 1.5 times my size was effortlessly pulled toward me. The ring, shaped like an 8, snapped in half as it flew over my head and crashed into the opposite wall where my tail was directed.
The moment it hit the wall, a tremendous noise rang out, and the structure itself tilted sharply. Turning my head, I saw the creature pierce the surveillance station's outer wall and fall into space.
‘Good.’
I had achieved the first objective of the plan.
I pulled out the limbs I had embedded in the floor of the surveillance station and quickly caught Number 26, who was tumbling down the tilted floor.
[ZZZ (Are you okay?)]
｢That was close!｣
｢I｣ ｢I’m okay｣
Adhai also flew to me and landed on my head.
Together with them, I exited the devastated surveillance station.
｢----｣
The furious creature was preparing to fire energy shells at us.
Just as its arms, attached to the surface, were about to cross into an X shape...
A black heat ray from the far side of space struck the creature's body, burning it.
The weapon that attacked the Vortex One was called the ‘Black Cannon’.
It’s one of the Empire battleship’s secondary weapons, using dark matter as its energy source, just like the ‘Cosmic Bolt’.
The Empire battleships, having received the distress call from Verzan-02 and the surveillance station, gathered here to eliminate the ‘primary enemy’.
‘Good. It’s time to move on to the next phase of the plan.’
[ZZZ (Please)]
｢Yes｣ ｢I｣ ｢Little adult｣ ｢I can protect it｣
I handed Number 26 over to Adhai and released the Bone Beast, which had little time left before its transformation ended.
My body, which had grown over three times its original size, quickly shrank back down. The white exoskeleton covering my body crumbled and lost its vitality.
Though I was overwhelmed with fatigue, there was no time to rest.
After turning my body once, I drew the next card.
‘The Symbol of Hunt.’
Right after the transformation was completed, the Amorph's adult form began to evolve once again.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
Join our Discord for release updates!
https://discord.com/invite/dbdMDhzWa2
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